Vanity Plates II: The Irony

As I wrote before I never quite got the desire for vanity plates. And I'm even more puzzled when it sets the car owner up for a bit of irony.

"Size Matters:"

"Size Matters" on a smaller Lexus SUV, parked next to a monster Humvee:

Dead traffic lights II

As I noted before there is a traffic light pole I pass daily that lives a precarious existence - they got it again:


This one happened during the evening rush hour, the three cars parked on the far side of the street were all involved somehow. I missed the actual crash and only witnessed the aftermath - I'd love to know what actually happened.

Spring Snow

This winter doesn't seem to want to let Chicago go. We had a week of 70's weather in March and kind of thought that spring was around the corner. But no, we got snow a week later.


It was the damp clumpy stuff and it didn't stay on the ground long (it got into the 50's the next day) but Chicagoans think it's about time they get to ditch the jackets.

Mystery Sign

This sign has always puzzled me. I get what it means, but who posted it? I've never seen another one like it, and the City of Chicago just doesn't strike me as the kind of entity that would put stick figures on warning signs.

Excitement on the River

One day at work I happened to look out the window (not mine, my boss's) and saw a helicopter hovering low over the river. Come to find out, witnesses reported someone had jumped from the bridge and they were lowering in divers to find him. After about an hour (they had three sets of divers who only stayed in the water about 15 minutes - the water was literally freezing) the rescue crews gave up. (Sorry about how bad the diver picture is, it was taken through glass a dozen floors up.)

The operation was handed over to the Chicago police (I guess after an hour in the river the rescue types won't really be able to help and it then becomes a recovery operation) and for the next few days they sent men out with what looked to me like sonar equipment that they lowered into the water. Strangely, they apparently never found anyone even though several witnesses reported seeing the man jump.